3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

Beat the market, and you beat the world.

I take a look at three companies that beat market expectations every week, since I believe that it's the biggest factor in a stock beating the market. Leaving Wall Street's pros with stunned expressions can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured. Capital appreciation typically follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the pros over the past few trading days.

We can start with Apple(Nasdaq: AAPL).

It was easy to predict that Apple would blast through the $10.04 per-share profit that analysts were expecting for its fiscal second quarter. The world's most valuable tech company has only come up short once over the past several years. However, even steadfast bulls couldn't have predicted Apple's net income of $12.30 a share. The iPhone is a global sensation, and Apple is making a mint off every single one.

Baidu(Nasdaq: BIDU) also beat the market. China's leading search engine saw its quarterly earnings soar 76% to $0.85 a share, narrowly besting the $0.84 a share that Wall Street was targeting.

Revenue was a bit light -- and guidance could've been better -- but Baidu has now come through with 12 consecutive quarters of better-than-forecasted bottom-line results.

Finally, we have Las Vegas Sands(NYSE: LVS) hitting the jackpot. The casino operator came through with a quarterly profit of $0.70 a share. The pros were betting on $0.60 a share. Las Vegas Sands as a smart play on the booming gaming scene in Macau isn't much of a secret, but even the company's operations closer to home are dealing out solid growth these days.

Moving in the right directionIt's important to keep watching the companies that surpass expectations. Over time, it will be a lucrative experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise that we look for in the Rule Breakers newsletter service. Want in? Check out a 30-day trial subscription. If that's not up your alley just yet, you can still check out a free special report detailing the next trillion-dollar revolution.

Either way, come back next week to learn about more stocks that blew the market away in the coming days.

If these three victors aren't enough, check out a new report that reveals three hidden winners in a booming niche that will only get bigger in the future. It's a free report, so check it out soon.

Author

Rick has been writing for Motley Fool since 1995 where he's a Consumer and Tech Stocks Specialist. Yes, that's a long time. He's been an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and a portfolio lead analyst for Motley Fool Supernova since each newsletter service's inception. He earned his BBA and MBA from the University of Miami, and he now lives a block from his alma mater.
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